SEC issues record $20 million whistleblower award

The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced an award in excess of $20 million to a whistleblower who promptly came forward with valuable information which allowed the agency to initiate an enforcement action before the company could hide its assets. The agency said that the whistleblower alerted them to information which lead to a total recovery of investor funds. Under the SEC whistleblower program, the identity of the whistleblower is protected and the agency does not disclose information which might directly or indirectly reveal their identity.

Whistleblower awards under the program range from 10 percent to 30 percent of any funds collected when the monetary sanctions exceed one million dollars. The SEC has collected more than $130 million in rewards under the program. It is unclear as to whether the program operations will change under the Trump administration.